Excerpt: [working title] Sword in Velvet

"Thank you!" I whispered and slipped out the back door again, eyes shocked into blindness again with the sudden bright light. Of course, I had forgotten to keep track of the young child's progress during the conversation. He smiled shyly at me from where he sat playing in a pile of dirt. He had captured a woolly bear caterpillar and was rolling it's fuzzy body down a small mound of dirt between his legs. I patted his head and "calmly" strolled out into the garden plot. Hopefully I hadn't been quite memorable enough for him to mention me for at least a few days. Then again, I wasn't going to cross any fingers over that one. As soon as he was out of sight, I ran for it, vaulting the little gate and casting a cloud of dust behind me on the street.

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